GETTING RELIEF FROM A REEFER

The cannabis debate looms large in this country, and here Timaru
Herald reporter Krista Hunter speaks to two regular South Canterbury
users.

Eyes open to greet the morning. He pulls himself from bed to the
nearby cupboard. The silver tin holds his morning fix.

Tomorrow the same. And the day after. Relentless pain drives the
quadriplegic to distraction and cannabis provides the only relief.

Across town a mother dresses her two children for school. Ringing in
her ears intolerable. She too turns to the green medicine.

These two South Canterbury people secretly light up a joint and find
an element of relief. They risk criminal conviction in doing so.

But this could shortly change as the cannabis debate moves forward
with a parliamentary committee to look into the health issues
associated with its use. A review of cannabis laws is scheduled during
this term of Parliament, with decriminalising the drug the main option
up for discussion. That would make it a ticketing offence, like
speeding, to be caught with small amounts of the drug.

The decriminalisation of cannabis would be welcomed by Allan and Sue
(not their real names) who both use marijuana for medicinal reasons.

For Allan, cannabis helps him make it through the day. The 31-year-old
was crippled in a car accident some years ago.

Allan likens the pain in his limbs to arthritis and has tried various
prescribed medicines to relieve it.

He has been smoking cannabis daily for 10 years. Without the drug the
pain becomes unbearable.

He has one session in the morning, another in the afternoon as the
numbing effects of the first smoke fade.

"The cannabis numbs the pain. I don't take enough to feel totally
spaced out."

Sue has tinnitus - a constant high-pitched ringing in the ears. She
regularly smokes cannabis when her condition becomes unbearable and to
help with expression.

"With tinnitus there is never ever any peace or quiet. Even in the
most isolated place there is still the high-pitched ringing."

"I can get really wound up with the noises and it's hard to relax.
Cannabis lets me relax."

Sue also tried traditional medicines before turning to the illegal
drug. She favoured cannabis over anti-depressants like Prozac
prescribed by her doctor because the latter left her feeling
"disconnected".

Sue has smoked cannabis for 20 years - daily for half that
time.

She smoked throughout her two pregnancies and while
breast-feeding.

"I have two healthy kids, who are very bright and show no signs of
attention deficit disorder or any other health or medical problem."

Both Allan and Sue started smoking cannabis when they became ill. For
them it's not a recreational drug - it's a lifeline.

They say decriminalising cannabis would take away its stigma. Cannabis
smokers, they believe, have been stereotyped as stupid losers.

Sue said making cannabis available would mean she could grow her own
and its cost would lessen.

A "foil" (foil wrapped package) of cannabis heads (sufficient for
three joints) costs around $20.

"I have spent thousands of dollars over the years buying cannabis.
What's worse is that people have to struggle to make enough money to
buy it, as you have to pay what the market demands."

Allan too is afraid to grow his own stash for fear of
prosecution.

"If people use it for medicinal purposes I don't see what's wrong
making it."

Both scoff at suggestions made by those against decriminalising
cannabis that the it leads to harder drugs.

CANNABIS - THE FACTS:

The medicinal uses prescribed by the cannabis plant are many.
Archeological evidence of cannabis dates back more than 8500 years,
when it was used in places like China for clothes and rope.

A Modern Herbal by Mrs Grieve, published in 1931, said: "The principal
use of hemp in medicine is for easing pain and inducing sleep, and for
a soothing influence in nervous disorders. It does not cause
constipation, nor affect the appetite like opium.

"It is useful in neuralgia, gout, rheumatism, insanity, infantile
convulsions, insomnia etc. Many of you would have heard that Queen
Victoria smoked it for menstrual cramps."

Cannabis is now seen by some as the drug plant of the millennium,
especially in the use of relieving pain without side-effects that the
current synthetic opiate-based pain killers have, and without the
drug-addicting aspects of those pain killers.

Nearly 70 per cent of New Zealand teenagers will have smoked cannabis
by the time they are 21.

Effects of the drug vary with each user, the strength of the chemicals
in the plant, and whether cannabis is used alone or in connection with
alcohol or drugs.

A "high" is generally characterised by feelings of well-being and
release from inhibitions. Short-term effects include a dream-like
effect, sedation and a mild self-hypnosis, making users more likely to
exaggerate their mood and react to surroundings. There can be loss of
concentration, increased pulse and heart rates, reddening of the eyes,
and sharpened appetite.

Large amounts of marijuana or prolonged use can cause anxiety
reactions, paranoia and occasionally delusions.